My New Stamps & Sneak Peeks

This weekend I went to the rubber stamp convention in Newark, CA. I enjoy going to these stamp shows, seeing new products, and watching some of the demos. I especially like the Invoke Arts booth. I came home and couldn't wait to play with my new stamps...I created this little sampler.

I bought the following stamps...

I purchased a few sets from Invoke Arts and one set of washi tape stamps from Close to My Heart. I just love the washi tape stamps - I can now make the exact color washi tape I need with these stamps. Close To My Heart is sold in home parties, and this set was available as a Hostess Reward - luckily someone was selling theirs at the show.

I also love the mixed letters. The stamps are sold unmounted, so I did spend some time mounting them on cling foam and cutting them out individually. You can take the letters and spell out a word on an acrylic block, and then stamp the word repeatedly onto different papers.

I cut out the letters individually and mixed up the background papers and spelled out Artful Play and doodled this piece...

I then photocopied that piece and used it as wrapping paper for a small package I have to send out tomorrow.

Speaking of packages that I'm sending out, I can give you a sneak peek of what I'm been up to lately.

It involves products from Red Lead which they sent me...

and creating some samples from some really fun pieces...

There's so much you can do with these wooden houses.

They also sent me some adorable vintage collage sheets to use.

Below is a picture of a few of the houses that I worked on... 

I'll be able to share all the details soon, along with the finished projects - stay tuned!

I have another sneak peak to share as well.  I started working on my xmas cards...let me just say, "paper napkins."

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. I'm so looking forward to some extra days off. Have a great week, and hope you're spending time with your family and friends enjoying some yummy foods!

Attended Charity Benefit Gala

Last weekend I went with my sister Maryl to a Charity Benefit Gala, a black tie event! The event was held at Pier 48 in San Francisco where there were over 2,000 people. The banquet was held in a massive tent where they projected beautiful images on the ceiling.

The table bases were also illuminated....it created such a beautiful atmosphere and love those lucite chairs.

But the best part of the night was the secret guest entertainer. The first winner of American Idol, winner of 2 Grammy Awards, 2 American Music Awards, 2 MTV Music Awards and 11 Billboard Music Awards...Kelly Clarkson!!!

 

My sister Mary in the audience

A very blurry picture of me ;-)

What an evening to remember!

Sister Celebration & Making Resin Necklaces

This past weekend we celebrated the November birthdays for my sisters, Diana and Lana...born only 1 day and 1 year apart. We had a wonderful crafting day making these adorable dolls...

My sister Diana hosted the event at her house and taught us the steps to make these wooden reliquaries dolls. Some of the supplies to make the dolls came from Paper Whimsy.  

It was a beautiful day and Diana's house has these beautiful windows looking into a wonderful backyard. 

Diana had the table set up with all the supplies and instructions we needed.

Diana drilling holes in our blocks for us.

Me and my five sisters

It was a really fun day; the food was delicious, the project was amazing, and Diana was a great host. Thanks Dee, and Happy Birthday Lana & Diana!

Now on to the gifts. I decided to make my sisters some resin necklaces, inspired from a class I took with Kecia Deveney at Art Is You.

It started with these resin bezels I purchased from Susan Lenart Kazmer Art Mechanique. I soldered curly wires on the top and bottom.

For the pictures inside the bezel, I photocopied vintage tin types which I then embellished with a white pen and vintage text paper.

 Below is the picture of the finished pieces with charms added to the bottom and an assemblaged chain.

Here's some close up shots...

That's all, have a great weekend!

Fun To Paint Circles

I've been playing with paint and drawing circles...inspired by Roben Marie Smith, she's a wonderful artist with great on-line videos.

Here's some photos of the step-by-step process. I finger-painted some circles in an old journal book with some colorful acrylic paints.

Then I added multiple colors of paint and continued to make more layers of circles...

Afterwards I added some white paint for accents...

Then I layered more circles using white and black pens...

Now, you may be wondering what you do with all these colorful circles. I like to cut them out and add them to my projects as accents. Below I used them to embellish wrapped gifts...

My next project was in my Dylussions mini journal. I laid down several colors of acrylic paint.

 Using an old plastic gift card, I smeared the paint around.

 Then added some white paint...

I cut out some of the circles and glued them in my journal pages to create a fun background. Next I made some paper dolls using Catherine Moore Character Construction stamps, and glued them to the page. Here's my finished journal pages.

Bright colors huh? It's fun - makes me smile. 

Hope you had a great weekend!